Mecha Builders is a CGI-animated spin-off of Sesame Street that premiered on May 9, 2022, and was made with the intention of educating children about the STEM problem-solving process.
The series stars robotic “mecha” versions of three famous Sesame Street characters, who solve problems using their built-in gadgets and the show’s trademark three-step problem-solving method- plan, test, and solve. Each Mecha Builder represents one-third of the process- Mecha Abby Cadabby, with her hologram generator takes care of planning, Mecha Elmo, who can produce almost any tool imaginable, stands for “testing” and usually builds whatever contraption is needed for the episode, Mecha Cookie Monster, with various miscellaneous gadgets (including his “Handy Hammer Hand”), is the one who usually ends up solving the problem. Later episodes would add a fourth Mecha Builder in the form of Mecha Tango, Mecha Elmo’s dog, who does not represent anything to do with the process.
In case their regular gadgets were not enough to save the day, the Mecha Builders also have an ace up their sleeve- the ability to, for a limited time, become “Mecha Tiny” or “Mecha Giant”.
The show concluded on November 24, 2023, after a single season of 26 episodes. Shorts featuring the Mecha Builders would later air as part of the main Sesame Street show in its 55th season.
Tropes in Mecha Builders include:
- Added Alliterative Appeal: The name of Mecha Cookie’s Handy Hammer Hand. He also keeps track of how long the group can stay in their Mecha Tiny or Mecha Giant forms with his Cookie Clock.
- Alliterative Title: A few episodes have one, those being “Magnet Mayhem”, “Picture Perfect Park Party”, “Mecha Machine Makers”, “Pinecone Palooza”, and “Playhouse Problem”.
- Bragging Theme Tune:If you got a problem,
Guess who you need to call?
With mechanical powers
There′s nothing they cannot solve. - Broken Lever of Doom: The cause of the Runaway Train in “Stop That Train” is the brake lever coming off in the engineer’s hand.
- Buffy Speak: When Mecha Elmo activates the wheels on his feet, he says “Rolly things!”
- Chained Heat: The plot of “Sticky Space Race”, with Zee and MacBarm being stuck together by Zee’s sticky slime.
- Character Action Title: “Zee Makes An Amazing Maze” has one.
- Christmas Episode: “Yip Yip, Tree Tree” and “The Snowman Scarecrow”, although neither of them has the characters actually mentioning Christmas; they’re doing all of this stuff for “The Holidays”.
- Descriptiveville: Pretty Big City.
- Eating Machine: Mecha Cookie Monster, as expected. Technically, all of the Mechas can do this, but Mecha Cookie is the only one who really puts it into practice.
- Extendable Arms: One of Mecha Abby’s powers is the ability to stretch out her arms to great lengths.
- Halloween Episode: “The Legend Of Jack O’Lantern” (where the Mechas save a haunted hayride), and its partner episode “The Mecha T-Rex” (where the Mechas help a boy with his Halloween costume).
- Heli-Critter: Mecha Tango can fly by spinning her tail; this ability is referred to as her “Turbo Tail”.
- Meaningful Name: Most of the places in the show have one, such as Treetop Woods and Sunny Field Farm.
- Pink Is Feminine: Mecha Abby, the sole female Mecha Builder, is bright pink.
- Pop-Culture Pun Episode Title: One episode is called “That Ol’ Time Rock Rolls”.
- Pun-Based Title: A few episodes have one- “Make Like A Banana And Split”, “Stick To It!” (in which Pretty Big City is covered in a deluge of sticky slime), “The Need For Feed”, “Where There’s A Wheel There’s A Way”, “Get In Gear” (involving clock gears), and “Measure For Measure” (which involves measuring Marwyn’s giant cookie).
- Punny Name: A decent proportion of episodes take place in a city called Pretty Big City.
- Robot Dog: Mecha Tango; her powers include super-hearing, “super-sniffing”, and her “Turbo Tail”.
- Rhyming Title: “The Need For Feed” and “The Best Nest Test” have one.
- Rule of Three: There are three main protagonists, who each represent one-third of the “three-step problem-solving process”- Mecha Abby is planning, Mecha Elmo is testing the plan, and Mecha Cookie is implementing the solution.
- Runaway Train: “Stop That Train” has the Mechas trying to stop one without damaging any of the fragile eggs it was carrying on board.
- Sizeshifter: One of the Mechas shared abilities is the power to become “Mecha Tiny” or “Mecha Giant”, although they can only spend a limited amount of time in these states before reverting to normal size.
- Sticky Situation: In “Stick To It!”, the whole of Pretty Big City gets caught in one of these when a factory spews sticky slime everywhere.
- Team Pet: Later episodes introduced Mecha Tango, Mecha Elmo’s pet dog.
- Team Title: The show has one.
- Telescoping Robot: Mecha Elmo can swap his hands out for a seemingly unlimited array of tools, although he never seems to get the tool he wants on the first try.
- Theme Tune Rap: The opening theme is one.
- Third Time's The Charm: Due to the show being Strictly Formula, this can be observed in every single episode- the Mecha Builders will make three attempts to solve the problem of the week; the first two will fail, while the third, which incorporates the STEM concept of the week, will succeed.
- Token Flyer: Mecha Abby is the only flying Mecha Builder.
- Two Shorts: Each episode is made up of two 11-minute segments.
